Gunner Stockton is coming off a season where he finished No. 7 in Heisman Trophy voting. Expectations are now even higher than that as many believe he is one of the favorites to win the award in 2026.
A lot has to go right in order for that to happen, but there are a few games more important than others. CBS Sports recently wrote an article about this, and they picked the Alabama game as the most important for Stockton in his pursuit of the winning Georgia their third Heisman Trophy.
“Only two Georgia quarterbacks have ever won in Tuscaloosa: Matthew Stafford (2007) and David Greene (2002),” Cody Nagel said via cbssports.com. “Neither was especially sharp -- both completed under 60% of their passes with two interceptions and two touchdowns -- but they escaped with narrow victories. If Gunner Stockton leads the Bulldogs to a win against Alabama this season, it would mark a defining road statement for Georgia and immediately elevate his Heisman Trophy stock entering the back half of the schedule.”
Gunner Stockton's Heisman hopes depend on matchup with Alabama
While Stockton is one of the favorites to win the Heisman in 2026 according to Vegas oddsmakers, there are countless analysts who aren't so high on him. But that may just be all the movtivation he needs.
So what is so important about the Alabama game? To put it simply, that will be the biggest game of Georgia's season. Sure they play other really good teams like Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Auburn, but this will be the most watched game of Georgia's entire season. So if Stockton can lead Georgia to victory with an impressive stat line he could quickly jump up the Heisman Trophy rankings.
At the end of the day Stockton probably doesn't care about winning this award. But Georgia fans definitely do, and if they want him to win it he needs to have the best game of his season at Alabama.